Download Anti-Bullying Policy - Ss Peter and Paul`s Primary School

Ss Peter & Paul’s
Primary School
Anti-Bullying
Policy
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“The person of each individual human being, in her or his material and spiritual needs, is at
the heart of Christ’s teaching: that is why the promotion of the human person is the goal of
the Catholic School.” Pope John Paul 11
The Catholic School fosters a particular climate where students, teachers, parents, clergy,
non teaching staff and the wider community feel welcomed and valued.” (Barry Dwyer)
Related Policies:
Pastoral Care
Behaviour Management
Purpose:
The purpose of the Anti-Bullying Policy is to:
 Ensure the school is a safe and happy environment for all
 Recognise that bullying occurs and that it needs to be dealt with swiftly and with due
thought to procedural fairness
 Build a strong supportive culture, so that bullying and anti social behaviour is not
acceptable under any circumstances.
Policy:
All members of Ss Peter and Paul’s School community will endeavour to promote and affirm
the dignity, respect and self worth of each individual.
Bullying affects everyone, not just those directly involved in incidents of bullying. It can
damage the atmosphere of the classroom, playground and the climate of the school.
The school seeks to promote a happy, safe, warm and supportive learning environment so
that the rights of everyone are respected.
All members of the school community are expected to address any type or acts of bullying.
It is essential that a comprehensive whole school approach addresses bullying behaviour.
Definition:
Bullying – when a person is involved in an intimidating act/pattern or repeated behaviour
against others. Any behaviour intended to hurt, injure, frighten or threaten another person.
It can take a number of forms: e.g. teasing, threats, assault, property theft and damage, and
gestures.
Bullying is a pattern of behaviour by one person towards another which is designed to hurt,
injure, embarrass, upset or cause to discomfort to that person
The term bullying also includes sexual, racist or disability harassment. It can also refer to a
pattern of victimising behaviour on the part of an individual.
Bullying can occur between adults, between students as well as between students and
adults in the setting of a school.
The terms bully and victim are shorthand terms that we use, because most people
understand, through the use of those terms, the dynamic that we are addressing. We do not
seek to negatively label individuals who are involved in bullying. We acknowledge that
individuals who bully others are not bullies in every situation. We similarly acknowledge that
victims of bullying are not victims in every situation.
Types of Bullying
1. Verbal - mimicking, teasing, put downs, ridiculing, name calling, degrading, threatening,
intimidating, laughing at, racial comments, rumour spreading, comments regarding
appearance, actions or belief, note writing, abusive and threatening emails/telephone
calls, tone of voice, defamatory or abusive comments, sarcasm, rude jokes
2. Physical - use of hand/finger gestures, pinching, spitting, shoving, kicking, pushing,
slapping, poking, taking, destroying or damaging other people’s property, touching,
blocking, extortion, shepherding
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3. Psychological - deliberate ignoring, isolating and excluding, threatening looks, stand
over tactics, offensive body language, group elitism, mimicking to ridicule
4. Social - exclusion, rumours, putdowns, gossip, graffiti and notes about others,
5. Sexual - physical, verbal or nonverbal sexual conduct
6. Racial
7. Emotional - instilling fear in others, extortion (forcing other students to hand over money,
food or other possessions) forcing other students to their work
Why Bullying occurs?
 To feel more powerful
 To feel better about themselves
 To fit in
 To think they might become popular or accepted
 A response to bullying
 A learned behaviour
 A response to jealous feelings, distrust, fear
 Misunderstanding or lack of knowledge
Characteristics of Bullying
Bullying is a harmful behaviour that deprives individuals and groups of their rights,
jeopardises their physical and emotional safety and security, and undermines the well-being
and climate of our school community.
Characteristics of Bullying includes:
 Involves the desire to dominate/control others
 Need to win
 Lack of remorse for hurting other people
 Refusal to accept responsibility for actions
 Low self-esteem, poor motivation
 Feel threatened
 Can continue over time
 Often hidden from adults
 Will be sustained if adults or peers do not take action and address it
Effects of bullying
The effects of bullying may include:
 Feeling frightened, unsafe, embarrassed, angry, unfairly treated
 Disruptions to work, concentration, sleep
 Feeling confused and not know how to handle the problem
 Withdrawal from activities
 A deterioration in relationships at home, school, sport etc
 In the extreme - questioning the value of life
Rights of the school community
All students and staff have the right:
 To feel safe, cared for and respected
 To be free from threat and intimidation
 To enjoy school
 To have a happy, healthy and safe environment.
Expectations of staff, parents and students:
Parents expect that:
 They be informed and involved in any issues that involve bullying or antisocial behaviour
 Programs in place are explained annually and that they are adhered to
 Parental workshops regarding parenting and pro-social behaviours be offered regularly
 Appropriate strategies from the Behaviour Management Policy be used to solve issues
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 Procedural fairness will underpin any decisions made.
Staff expect:
 To be treated with dignity and respect and in return staff treat parents, colleagues and
students in the same manner
 Parent and executive support when dealing with anti social or bullying type behaviours
 That they will be listened to and supported and that procedural fairness will be the basis
for dealing with an issue
 Students and parents to understand that rights need to be balanced with responsibilities.
Students expect that they will:
 Be treated with dignity and respect and in return they will treat others appropriately
 Be listened to if they are experiencing any difficulties
 Participate in ongoing training to provide them with appropriate skills to deal with social
situations
Responsibilities of the Ss Peter and Paul’s School community
The leadership team of Ss Peter and Paul’s School are expected to provide in-service for
staff, and be proactive and interactive in implementing the Anti Bullying Policy.
Staff
The staff are required to:
 Understand and follow the current Anti Bullying policy and procedure
 Be role models in their words and behaviour at all times
 Provide structures for a safe, secure and inclusive learning environment that is free from
bullying, abuse and intimidation
 Engender a culture where to ‘ignore’ bullying is to condone it
 Observe signs and incidents of bullying and stress amongst the school community
 Be active in the school environment
 Listen to the children
 Report suspected incidents of bullying to the appropriate staff member
 Remind children about the Electronic Bully Box where they can report any bullying or
suspected bullying incidents
 Educate students on the Anti Bullying policy, procedure and consequences.
Students
The students are required to:
 Be aware and understand the types of bullying behaviours and their damaging effect on
people
 Refuse to involve themselves in bullying behaviour
 Report bullying behaviour or suspected incidents to a staff member
 To consider the impact of their actions on others
 Respect the rights and property of others
 Follow the school policy and procedure
 Be proactive and positive to prevent the continuation of bullying behaviour
 Accept the consequences that will arise from bullying behaviour
Parents
The parents will be required to:
 Support the school and students in the policy and procedure
 Report suspected incidences to teaching staff
 Support the school in their investigation of bullying incidents
 Assist with the correction of unacceptable behaviour
Preventive Strategies
The leadership team will:
 Ensure the policy is accessible and explained to all members of the school community
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Undertake professional learning
Provide professional development, resources and advice to the staff
Observe and attempt to identify students at risk and take appropriate supportive action
Review and evaluate policy and procedures regularly
Include Peer Support program in their curriculum
Visually advertise positive peer relations
The teaching staff will:
 Ensure understanding of the policy to all students
 Implement pastoral care/behaviour management programs which address positive
behaviour and bullying behaviour
 Observe and attempt to identify students at risk and take appropriate supportive action
 Ensure that the message ‘it is okay to report bullying’ is promoted
 Provide a safe and supportive learning environment
 Report suspected incidences to appropriate staff members
 Monitor student behaviour in the playground and classroom
 Include the promotion of positive peer relations, aspects of bullying and its consequences
in the school curriculum
Procedure of Investigating Reported Bullying Incidents
Incident is reported
Teacher
Students are interviewed by teacher.
Incident details are clarified and recorded.
Parent/s
informed of
incident and
consequence
Consequence
for student/s
Electronic Bully Box
Assistant Principal interviews students.
Incident is investigated and details are
clarified and recorded.
Parent/s informed of the incident and
consequence.
Assistant Principal or
Coordinator
Consequence
for student/s
Principal
Principal
Future monitoring of situation and follow up phone call with parents concerned.
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The incident is reported through the Electronic Bully Box, from the student or parent.
All reports will be treated sensitively and actions will be documented.
Teacher/Assistant Principal will investigate the issue/incident
Further discussion with other students involved to clarify the incident
Parents of the students involved are informed about the bullying incident
Each case will be dealt with depending on the circumstances and seriousness of the
incident.
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Consequences of Bullying
It is important that the message “Bullying is not tolerated at our school” is communicated to
all members of the school community.
Types of consequences for the bullying incident  Discussion of the incident re bullying with all students concerned – rights of individuals,
sense of justice
 Conflict Resolution between students
 Student initiated strategies
 Counselling – referral to the counsellor
 Conversation with student and parent
 Monitoring of the students involved
 Personal Behavioural Contract with the bully – monitored by teacher, coordinator,
Assistant Principal or Principal
 Internal Time Out/Suspension at school
 If bullying offences continue to occur despite intervention external suspension may occur
 If any concern or dispute is not resolved then it is forwarded to the Principal
Whole school strategies
Some of the strategies used at Ss Peter and Paul’s School are:
• Satisfaction surveys with staff, students and parents that identify concerns
• Buddy program-kindergarten students are buddied with Year 5 students, so that the older
children can offer support from day one of school.
• K-6 Peer Support Program
• Facilitating of anti-bullying module called ‘Speaking Up’ in peer support groups
• Mini Vinnies opportunities with Year 6 students
• Student Leadership camp is offered to all Year 6 students
• Participation in SWPBS program – monitoring and tracking student behaviour
• Children are taught appropriate behaviours in the classroom and non classroom settings
through the SWPBS program
• Year 6 Student Leadership opportunities
• Merit Award system/Fair Play awards
• Strong positive reinforcement of students and their appropriate behaviour
• Social Skills program with the Learning Support Team to provide additional support to
students in need
• The Leadership Team have an open door policy. Parents, staff and students know they
will be given time if there is a problem
Classroom strategies
All of the above PLUS
• Class rules/expectations are negotiated every year with teacher and students
• Class teacher and student deal with smaller issues
 Positive communication book between parents and the teacher detailing the positive
things of the day, any concerns about behaviour and /or learning
• Parent and staff work with students to look at underlying problems and seek solutions
• Principal or staff member works with individuals or groups on strategies that work
• CEO behavioural support staff are involved with pro-social programs if required
• Issues are resolved in a calm manner with quite a large amount of time given to hearing
what each student feels and assisting all students feel more able to cope
• Restitution when required so that students have the notion of rights and responsibilities
reinforced and the requirement to take responsibility for their own action.
Evaluation:
The Anti Bullying Policy will be reviewed by the staff of Ss Peter and Paul’s School when
necessary.
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